SAN DIEGO — Every team that goes through scandal and adversity reacts differently to what’s happening around it. Auburn, more than any other, has gone through the wringer this season. Its former associate head coach, Chuck Person, was indicted in the pay-for-play investigation into college basketball. Its two best players, Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy, were suspended in the preseason in connection and have missed the entire year. And head coach Bruce Pearl is involved in his second scandal regarding extra benefits.

In the grand scheme of things, no one should feel sorry for the Tigers. This is a mess of their own assistant coach’s making. This isn’t some sob story about a team overcoming tough circumstances. But the question is worth asking: How have the Auburn players responded to the program being engulfed in controversy?

“We pay that no mind,” junior center Horace Spencer said. “We can’t control what people think about us. We need to show them...